HHRVB: Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show postponement to cost local economy $80M

January 25, 2013 at 12:00 PM

The decision to postpone the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in Harrisburg next month will mean about $80 million in lost revenue for the local economy, according to the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau.

Reed Exhibitions, the show's organizer, had decided to limit the sale and display of certain firearms at the early February show.

It led to a flurry of boycotts by vendors, and Reed Exhibitions said Thursday it wouldn't hold the event as scheduled.

The show dates to the early 1950s and generates about $44 million in direct spending by vendors and attendees, according to the visitors bureau.

Direct spending is on food and lodging, the bureau said.

The show had special rate agreements for vendors and attendees at 22 area hotels accounting for about 12,000 room nights over about a week and a half, according to the bureau.

The $80 million number includes direct as well as indirect spending attributed to roughly 1,000 vendors and about a quarter of a million attendees, the bureau said.